Washington quarterback Keith Price smiles before an NCAA college football game against Washington State Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, in Seattle. Washington won the annual Apple Cup, 27-17. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Elaine Thompson, AP

Summary

Despite distractions and changes in his school's program, Washington QB Keith Price and his teammates are focused on winning the Fight Hunger Bowl.

“It’s a sad story. But obviously it’s a business decision. When you come here as a 17-year-old, you feel like you’re going to have the same coach the whole time. But coaches leave.”

Washington quarterback Keith Price

SAN FRANCISCO — One of the main reasons senior quarterback Keith Price chose to play at Washington was coach Steve Sarkisian.

Sarkisian, who as a quarterback led BYU to a 14-1 season and a Cotton Bowl victory in 1997, took over a Husky program in 2009 reeling from a winless season in 2008.

But after five years, Sarkisian left Washington to accept the head coaching job at USC.

The Huskies have named former Boise State coach Chris Petersen as the new boss in Seattle, with Marques Tuiasosopo serving as the interim coach.

But Price said that despite the distractions and changes in the program, he and his teammates are focused on winning the Fight Hunger Bowl Friday (7:30 p.m. MST, ESPN) against BYU.

“It’s a sad story. But obviously it’s a business decision,” Price said of Sarkisian's departure. “When you come here as a 17-year-old, you feel like you’re going to have the same coach the whole time. But coaches leave. As a young player, it’s hard to digest. For me, as an older guy, it wasn’t that big of a deal. I knew it was going to come sooner or later. I knew if he got this place rocking, he’d be gone. I’m still focused. We know BYU is an excellent opponent. It’s kind of my job to make sure I keep all the other guys’ heads straight.”

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall says Washington (8-4) is the best team his squad will have faced in the past nine seasons of bowl games. He added that an interim coach won’t affect the game.

“No, it doesn’t because they’re a good team,” he said. “I’m not sure that we can count on any kind of change. We need to prepare for them like they’re going to be at our best. Anything less than that would be a surprise. They have good players. The four teams they’ve lost to are all top 20 teams. They score a lot of points. They have good talent and they’re hard to score on on defense. They’re 8-4 in a good league, losing only to top 20 teams. I think it’s a significant test.”

Washington running back Bishop Sankey said Tuiasosopo — a former Husky quarterback and MVP of the 2001 Rose Bowl — has done a good job in his interim role.

“He’s been great," Sankey said. "We all respect him not only as a coach, but as a player for what he’s done for the university. He’s 100 percent invested and we are as well.”

“He’s awesome,” Price said of Tuiasosopo. “A couple of times he was late to our quarterbacks meetings to take care of head coach obligations. Bullets were flying for a couple of weeks. Now he’s settled in. He hasn’t changed one bit. Guys are playing freely. That’s all you can ask for.”

The Cougar defense will be challenged by Washington’s dynamic offense. The Huskies are No. 14 in the nation in rushing (243.1 ypg) and No. 19 in scoring (38.5 ppg).

Sankey is one of the nation’s premier running backs, having rushed for 1,775 yards this season — a school record. He is expected to declare for April’s NFL draft.

“He’s a hard runner. He jukes a lot of people,” said BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy. “He just breaks tackles and runs hard. He’s fast, too. He has the combination of everything. He’s a good player.”

After putting together three consecutive seven-win seasons, the Huskies broke through to claim eight victories this season.

“Finally reaching the eight-win plateau is an awesome feat for them,” said Tuiasosopo, whose future at Washington after the bowl game is still undecided.

Price said this game against BYU is a big one for him and his teammates.

“We haven’t won eight games since 2001,” he said. “To get nine wins would be awesome for this program. It would give the program a foundation. The best is yet to come.”

Petersen, who will officially take over the Washington program after the game, has attended a few bowl practices and has addressed the team.

But for Price, despite all the changes at the top of the program, the bottom line is that the players just want to win the game.

“We just need to play. Nothing else really matters,” he said. “The coaches aren’t out there anyway. We’re playing for each other, regardless of who’s coaching. We’re going to play our butts off for ourselves.”

Popular Comments

Attitude makes a difference! Sounds like the Huskies have plenty of it even
without their head coach! I hope the Cougars are heading to the game with lots
of the same pride and attitude themselves. Looking forward to an exciting game.
And may the
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6:00 a.m. Dec. 26, 2013

Top comment

New to Utah

PAYSON, UT

BYU has the best bowl matchup in years. I've heard rumblings that the team
was not that excited to play in the fight hunger bowl and I hope that is just
rumor and not fact. I think that BYU has the chance to show on a national stage
against a
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6:46 a.m. Dec. 26, 2013

Top comment

Y Grad / Y Dad

Richland, WA

thebigsamoanRichmond, VA

Thank you!

New to UtahPAYSON, UT

The bowl itself may or may not be disappointing to some.
I personally feel that this bowl is about where this team deserves to play this
year.
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Jeff Call has been a sportswriter for the Deseret News since 1997. He is the BYU beat writer and has been covering Cougar sports since 1993, when he served as sports editor at the Daily Universe. Call has written several more ..